Peretz and Mubarak in Cairo
Peretz, Mubarak: Boost PA moderates
Labor chairman visits Cairo in effort to prove his expertise goes beyond social affairs; agrees with Egyptian president that collective punishment of Palestinians must be avoided
In an effort to prove his ability go beyond social issues, Labor party Chairman Amir Peretz visited Cairo Wednesday to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and other top officials.
Last week Peretz met with Morocco’s king in another attempt to showcase his capability to deal with security matters and foreign affairs.
Peretz and his host discussed the need to strengthen moderate elements in the Palestinian Authority and to avoid collective punishment of the Palestinians.
“Egypt is the bridge to peace in the area and plays a key role in the Middle East,” Peretz said. The point of the meeting, Peretz added, was to establish a union of states and officials to fortify Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and other moderates in the PA.
Subtly criticizing Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s policy in freezing tax transfers to the PA, Peretz said: “There are ways to transfer the funds to moderate elements in the PA, and to make sure that they are used for humanitarian purposes.”
Mubarak emphasized the importance of taking steps to avoid causing harm to the Palestinian people.
Labor MKs Ophir Pines, Isaac Herzog and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer accompanied Peretz on the Cairo visit. Herzog, speaking to Ynet from Cairo, said it is “very important, in the fragile situation here, to ensure strong ties with influential figures in the region.”
According to Herzog, Mubarak expressed interest in the current political scene in Israel.
Egypt has played a central role in mediating contacts between Israel and the Palestinians, and relations between Cairo and Jerusalem were reinforced after Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip.
Cairo is also concerned about Hamas’ rise to power in the PA, and together with Abbas, has set three basic demands of the new government: Recognizing Israel, abandoning terror and respecting all agreements reached up to this point.
Meanwhile, in the PA on Wednesday, Fatah and Hamas reached tentative agreements for Fatah to join a coalition government.
